Baseball

Three Macon East senior athletes signed their letters of intent to play collegiate sports on November 14. Madisyn Kennedy is the first MEA student to sign with an SEC school. She committed several years ago to Mississippi State and is looking forward to her future as part of the Bulldogs softball program. A three-sport athlete at Macon East, Madisyn has racked up state championship rings in both softball and volleyball. Playing varsity in both sports since 7th grade, Madisyn’s work ethic on the field and court is the same as in the classroom. She currently serves as the President of the National Honor Society. Named AISA All-Metro player of the year in all three sports, Madisyn remains humble in all of her accomplishments and is a positive leader in the Lady Knights sports program.

TJ James, who joined the Lady Knights program just last season, also signed to play softball at Coastal Alabama Community College in Monroeville. Following a streak of 7 home runs in one tournament last season, TJ was recruited by Coastal Alabama and said it was a good fit for her. TJ was a part of the 2018 team that reclaimed the state title for Macon East.

Tucker Neven, who returned to Macon East last year after several years away, signed to play baseball at Lawson State Community College. Having just led the Knights football team to the semifinals as quarterback, Tucker is ready to hit the diamond and begin preparing for the 2019 season. The Knights have won back-to-back AISA state titles in baseball and will be seeking a third this year. Tucker was 10-1 on the mound for the Knights last year and plays outfield when he isn’t throwing. Tucker also led the team at the plate. All of these student athletes are representative of the strong work ethic and leadership that is fundamental in Macon East’s athletic and academic programs.

The 2018 Macon East Academy Varsity Baseball & Softball teams both ended the year as the AISA AA State Champions. A ring ceremony was held for each team at the annual Night with the Knights kick-off event to the season. For Coach Bob Picket and the baseball team, it was a back-to-back title win at Paterson Field. The Knights capped their 39-8 season sweeping rival Autauga Academy in the state finals. Coach Glynn Lott’s softball team reclaimed the AISA AA state title in dramatic fashion. The Lady Knights were 4-1 in the state finals at Lagoon Park winning a tie breaker game over Pickens Academy. Overall the team had an outstanding 57-12 season and graduated just 1 senior. Macon East made the move back to 3A this year, but both teams have the talent and depth to vie for state again in 2019. Macon East Academy athletes have won 16 state championships in the last 7 years (baseball 2, basketball 2, softball 6, volleyball 6).

Bob Pickett and his varsity baseball team did exactly what the set out to do from the first day of practice in 2018, bring the AISA AA State Title home again for a 2nd consecutive year. Going 39-8 for the season, the Knights were solid all year with depth in their pitching and consistency on the defense. Winning the Area and receiving a bye through the first round of playoffs, the Knights swept every playoff series including the championship series vs. Autauga Academy (8-3, 4-3). Going 10-0 on the mound, Macon East’s star catcher since 9th grade, became Macon East’s star pitcher in the 2018 season. Drew Baker, tournament and team MVP, will continue to pitch at the collegiate level for Chipola Community College in Marianna, FL. The return on JC Ceman, Tucker Neven, and Brock Taunton to MEA, as well as the addition of KC House, Dustin Jones, and Kellen Ward gave the Knights the extra talent they needed at the plate and in the field. The Knights will graduate 9 seniors from the 2018 team, but with a host of juniors and sophomores there is still plenty of talent to lead the team as they make the leap back into 3A competition in 2019. KC House, Tucker Neven, and Brock Taunton joined Drew Baker as members of the AISA AA State all-tournament team with several clutch hits and a game winning performance on the mound in game 2 by Neven. Representing Macon East in the AISA All-Star game on June 4, are seniors Drew Baker and Parker Agnew. Neven, Taunton, and JC Ceman will play in the junior all-star game on the same day at Paterson Field.

The 2018 Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award banquet was held May 3 at Frazer United Methodist Church. The objectives of the program are to recognize Christian leadership in athletics and to encourage and inspire others to emulate the man whose memory is perpetuated by this award. Since 1959, the Hitchcock Award has grown stronger each year in expressing the true Christian principles of the YMCA. The qualities of a Hitchcock nominee are strong personal character, dependability, 100% effort, team leadership, church leadership, school activities leadership, and scholastic leadership. Each Montgomery area school nominates senior athletes who possess these qualities. From this group of outstanding athletes, one female and one male are chosen to receive the coveted Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award.

This year’s nominees representing Macon East Academy were Logan Goree and Madison McKee. Logan is a three sport athlete who has lettered in football, basketball, and soccer. He was a member of both Macon East AISA AA state basketball championship teams. He also participated on the AISA All-Star team in both football and basketball. Madison is a two sport athlete at Macon East lettering in volleyball and softball. She helped lead this years team to recapture the AISA AA state title and will continue her softball career at Faulkner University.

Each year select freshmen are also recognized for their outstanding qualities in athletics, the classroom and community, as well as their potential to be future Hitchcock award nominees. Georgia Blaze and Tanner Moore were selected as Macon East’s freshman certificate winners for 2018. Georgia is a Knights cheerleader and plays volleyball, basketball, and softball. Tanner participates in football, basketball, baseball, and the fishing team.

Macon East recently recognized the senior athletes participating in spring sports. The golf team’s Bryson O’Malley is a 15 year student at Macon East and will attend Ole Miss in the fall. He and his father Mike O’Malley have led the golf team for several years. The softball team’s only senior player, Madison McKee is a 2 year student at Macon East and will continue her athletic career next year for the Faulkner Eagles. The Lady Knights have had another outstanding season and will vie to recapture the state title again this season. The Knights varsity baseball team recognized nine seniors who have led the team to another winning season and a bye through the first round of playoffs. The team is seeking a repeat as the AISA AA state title holder. Seniors include Parker Agnew, Drew Baker, Dawson Bell, Nick Fitzgerald, KC House, Jalen Howard, Blake Padgett, Wesley Pugh, and Kellen Ward. Baker will continue his baseball career at Chipola College in the 2019 season. The soccer program honored six seniors from the girls and boys varsity teams. Hannah Johnson, Colin Harris, Travis Moody, and Jackson Vinson have been integral in building the Knights program, while Bailey Dees and Taylor Watkins joined the Lady Knights team this year. The Soccer teams both made it to the playoffs again this year and ended their season at Tuscaloosa Academy. Macon East is proud to recognize the accomplishments of these seniors on and off the field.

Macon East Academy senior, Drew Baker, signed to play baseball with Chipola Community College in Marianna, Florida as a pitcher. Chipola won the Junior College National Championship last year and had 5 players taken in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft. Chipola is thought to be the #1 junior college in the nation for baseball. Going into his senior year, Drew was 5-2 on the mound. with 21 strikeouts and just 6 hits in his junior season. Drew, Macon East’s starting catcher, will take a more prominent position on the mound this year for the Knights. At the plate as a junior, Drew hit 396 with an on-base-percentage of 455, scoring 15 runs, 37 RBIs, 13 doubles, 46 hits and 2 home runs in the lead off position. Drew was named AISA All-Metro Player of the Year. At catcher, he posted a fielding percentage of 961 and helped lead the Macon East team to their first State Championship in 13 years.

In his sophomore season, Drew’s batting average was 402, with 14 runs, 23 RBIs, 43 hits, 2 home runs and an on-base-percentage of 453. At catcher his field percentage was 981 with 21 runners caught stealing. Drew is the last player at Macon East who was part of the 2015 State Runner-up team where he started as a freshman behind the plate. Drew has been part of 93 wins as a Knight. Joining Drew at the signing ceremony were his brother (Chris Ivey) and sister (Ashley Ivey), both of whom played baseball/softball for Macon East and signed to play at the collegiate level.

Macon East baseball and softball teams ended their seasons as the AISA AA State Champions and State Runner-up. Leading the teams were catcher Drew Baker and short stop Madisyn Kennedy, recently named the Montgomery Advertiser’s AISA All Metro Player of the Year for baseball and softball. Baker’s state champion team finished the season 33-13 with Baker behind the plate at catcher. In 6 appearances on the mound, Drew was 3 and 1 with a 2.15 ERA. At the plate, he hit an impressive .396 with a .455 on base percentage and 37 RBIs. The dynamic catcher/pitcher has earned himself a spot on the Chipola College team for the 2019 season. Drew was also named to the AISA All State 2nd team. Benched due to a knee injury, Drew was a member of the Macon East state champion basketball team. Going into his senior season, Drew plans to lead the Knights back to the state playoffs working behind the plate and on the mound.

Madisyn Kennedy enters her junior year committed to play in the SEC at Mississippi State in 2020. Also named 1st team in AISA All-State, Madisyn hit .486 in the 2017 season including 10 home runs and a .540 on base percentage. She knocked in 77 runs and scored 69 in the Knights 63 game season. Finishing the year 51-12, the Lady Knights lost the state championship game to Autauga after a 5-year reign as the state title holders. A star on the volleyball and basketball court as well as the softball field, Madisyn is an all-around outstanding athlete and scholar in the classroom. This junior powerhouse has two more seasons with the Knights before becoming a Bulldog, and she intends to add to her state champion ring collection.

The Macon East varsity baseball team swept Clarke Prep at the AISA AA state tournament at Patterson Field to bring home the championship trophy. The Knights went 33-13 for the season and won their Area with a record of 6-0. With a bye through the first round of playoffs the Knights hosted Escambia in round two and Autauga in round 3. Losing one game in each series, Macon East picked up the tie breaker win to advance to the championship series with Clarke Prep. With a crowd of Macon East fans cheering them on, Coach Pickett and his team took game one 8-4 and shut out the Gators 6-0 in game two with Kohner Massey on the mound. This was the first state championship win for the Macon East baseball program since 2004, and a sweet victory following a loss in 2015 to Edgewood at the state tournament. Seniors Connor Davis and Will Dowe combined for nine RBIs to lead Macon East at the plate. As relief pitcher, Mason Wray came in to game one earning him the win. A group of seniors made up the Knights all-tournament team: Will Dowe, Kohner Massey, Mason Wray and tournament MVP Connor Davis. Davis was 4-for-6 with four RBIs, three runs, and two doubles in the sweep. Coach Bob Pickett knew that this could be the Knights’ season to take it all, and they never let up on the goal of getting to State one game at a time. Pickett credits Coach Jim Brantley rejoining the program at pitching coach as a major part of the team’s successful season.

Seth Meadows and Alex Wyrosdick were honored to represent Macon East Academy this year as nominees for the prestigious Jimmy Hitchcock Award. Since 1959, the YMCA of Greater Montgomery has recognized Christian leadership in athletics through the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award. The banquet, held each year at Frazer United Methodist Church, honors area seniors nominated by their school who possess the qualities of strong personal character, dependability, effort, team and church leadership, school leadership, and academic excellence. Alex and Seth both stand out among their peers at Macon East as outstanding students in the classroom as well as leaders in their sport, church, and community. The YMCA also acknowledges high school freshman who possess these same qualities and aspire to one day be Hitchcock nominees. This year’s freshman certificate recipients from Macon East were Emily Claire Lott and Jake Wyrosdick.

Two Macon East Academy seniors were selected as School Winners for the Wendy’s High School Heisman. Seth Meadow and Alex Wyrosdick were recognized by this prestigious program for their hard work and dedication in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. These students are known by their teachers and coaches for their commitment to excellence. Since 1994, Wendy’s and the Heisman Trophy have honored more than 600,000 of the nation’s most esteemed students.

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